The use of void fillers is well-known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,889 to Boyse presents an open-celled void filler that is comprised of a honeycomb core surrounded by deck sheets. The honeycomb core is formed from a plurality of hexagonal cells which are secured together by adhesive. The ends of the deck sheets are secured to the ends of the honeycomb core and include integrally formed scored indentations in the deck sheet along the edges of the core and along the midpoint of the deck sheets. The void filler collapses around the fold lines and the honeycomb core collapses therewithin. The void filler may be changed from a collapsed configuration to an expanded configuration by pulling the opposing ends of the deck sheets which are secured to the core away from each other until the sides of the deck sheets generally abut the core.
While this type of void filler has worked effectively in prior applications, it seems to collapse easily due to the natural tendency of the honeycomb core to collapse and the tendency of the scored indentations to urge the deck sheets of the void filler outwardly. Furthermore, the honeycomb core is costly and difficult to manufacture.
The present invention provides a novel void filler which is intended to overcome or minimize all of these problems, as well as to present several other advantages and improvements.